Last day the 29th was the day of Rare Diseases. It could not be otherwise. “It is a rare date and that is why it was chosen”account Isabel Gemio. He knows about that topic and that fight to give lessons and it is already sixteenth editions at the head of the Foundation that bears his name. Raising money for research is his desire.
This week they held their annual charity dinner with Paco Roncero in charge of the kitchen and a long list of attendees who were scratching their pockets. How’s your emotional hangover going?
IG: I have very good feelings about the love and financial contributions we have received. When they see and hear us is when they are encouraged to collaborate. We try to offer a special night, with artists and talent, but above all we have to send the message since these people have a very difficult life with many complications. Obviously my mission is to raise money.
Who are the most generous and the most dirty?
IG: It does not go by sectors but by people. When someone has known these diseases and if they are in a company it is almost certain that they are going to turn. People are the ones who dignify positions. It is true that artists are very supportive and I have always had them by my side when their agendas have allowed it. Foundations, real estate agencies, banks… they collaborate and support us especially when they know us.
Have you been very upset when you called and didn’t get a response?
IG: I am positive and for mental health I prefer to focus on good people. The others are not worth it. I assure you that it is also very healthy to check who you always have by your side, especially to clear your agenda. Obviously when you are not on the front line with a program like the one I had where you can publicly thank people for help, it is more complicated, but that is why I value those who remain by my side, aware that I no longer have that media speaker.
José Luis López ‘El Turronero’ is one of his unconditional fans.
IG: He has been helping for years through his López Mariscal Foundation and I will tell you that he is one of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. We are always paid for by a corporate table where they choose their guests and this year they brought Albert Rivera. At my age I value people by actions not by words and there are many who always promise you things and those promises stay there. José Luis is about facts.
How is your son doing? I saw how they were moved by the performance that the singer India Martínez gave on stage.
IG: Apparently people see him looking good but we have to understand that he has a degenerative disease and those of us who are close to him see that and we see the difficulties that arise. Emotionally he is fine, he is still with his girlfriend although he couldn’t come that night, and they have been together for almost seven years. She spends a lot of time with us, but she combines it with her family.
How do you see yourself as a mother-in-law?
IG: You’d have to ask her that, although it seems like she’s happy. I assure you that I have always liked my children’s girlfriends and if they make mine happy they have me completely devoted.
And what do you tell me about yours? Don’t you miss a partner to lean on even for a little while?
IG: I understand that for many it is necessary, but I will tell you that neither now nor before have I needed to have someone by my side. When I have had a partner I have lived it but there are many ways to experience love. I’m not into open relationships, but I understand that at this point in my life I find living with someone very difficult. I live the way I want and that’s why I believe more in relationships that are not so constricted. It is true that I am very free and it is increasingly difficult for me to fall in love and give myself to a person, but if it appears, I am there for as long as it lasts. I have the life I want, I like what I do, and I am very well off like this.
It is true that he has an intense life.
IG: But I am very intense. For good and bad I am intense. What I like now is that I do what I want, something I didn’t know until recently because I started working at 16 until I was 56 when I lost my job. And it was not by choice as some insist on saying, but because in this profession we always depend on an offer and that has not happened. I assure you that I am not bitter or feel bad since life is one and you have to live it to the fullest. Today I am learning to live in a different way outside of the spotlight, television and radio, although that does not mean that I miss communication and that is why I am going to resume my interviews on YouTube and I am going to relaunch my social networks.
And you are not financially overwhelmed?
IG: Obviously what I am going to launch with my channel costs me money because I also like to do things well, but I am sure that advertising will come in when it is working. I also confess that I have always been very sensible with the money I have earned and I have not done crazy things. I’m not into great luxuries, jewelry or big cars. A trip with friends, my reading, a good house and going out to eat with friends are my needs.
Did you sell the house you had on the outskirts of Madrid?
IG: Not yet but it is for sale. I built that house before having my son and it was not accessible to his needs because it had many stairs. I built another smaller one adapted for him and the large one is the one I want to sell. That will give me a lot of peace of mind, although I assure you that I have assets that allow me not to have to take jobs that I don’t like. They call me from many programs, I appreciate it, but since I don’t see myself I don’t do it. Neither the “realities” nor the “talent shows.” I congratulate all the brave people who go to those formats, but they don’t suit me. The good thing about working since I was 16 is that today I can choose. I have not become a millionaire because I have not set up a production company, but I have known how to save to enjoy this stage where you know where you want to be and with whom. Look, now is when I have learned to say no without having regrets. And that didn’t happen to me before.
Queen Letizia has always been very dedicated to rare diseases. Do you keep in contact?
IG: We have agreed on some events and now we are thinking about a research project that the Queen could attend because it is something that interests her and supports.
What do you think of the Euthanasia Law?
IG: I campaigned and collaborated with the Dignified Death association. It is something that I am very clear about because I am a supporter of the freedom to choose at least how to die. Who am I to force a person to live in circumstances they can’t stand? In the ten countries where this law exists, it is very well regulated and no one takes advantage of it for their benefit, but it is important to be able to decide when you don’t want to continue and have the sweetest way to die. I am convinced that God does not want useless suffering. As my son says, God is love and love is compassion. Something that is so lacking in this society.
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